ABOUT UNICEF KINGSTON

UNICEF first established an office in Jamaica in 1977. The current five-year programme of cooperation (2012-2016) with the Government of Jamaica has three major programme components.

Through the Quality Education Programme, UNICEF and partners are investing strategically to build the capacity of pre-primary schools in particularly poor and volatile communities to deliver better quality and more child-friendly learning experiences. This effort is designed to increase the readiness of children aged three to six to transition and perform well in primary school. The programme also supports and promotes interventions to boost child health and nutrition in the earliest years and to reduce maternal and infant mortality.

While building this critical foundation, UNICEF and partners will work to create more child-friendly learning environments and strengthen teaching methods for children in primary schools from the same communities, in a bid to improve their Grade 4 outcomes in math and literacy.

The Adolescent Health and Empowerment Programmefocuses on building capacity within systems – primarily health services – to meet the specific needs of vulnerable adolescents and young people, while empowering the most vulnerable and marginalized to access key services. The programme also seeks to ensure that the voices of marginalized groups are heard through participation in formal government structures where they can influence decisions made on their behalf.

Similarly, the Child Protection Programmeis investing in the strengthening of the child protection system to reduce and prevent all forms of violence and to deliver better quality services for children who are particularly vulnerable to violence and exploitation, including victims of sexual abuse. The programme supports and promotes more child-friendly rehabilitation and re-integration options for the most vulnerable children.

Together, the three programmes are designed to address specific inequities across the entire life cycle of the most vulnerable children, to strengthen the systems which serve them, increase their access to key services and improve data use for better programming and advocacy.